


the kantonian practice of kintsugi

by acooleg



Series: an idiot's guide to pokémon: galar edition [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Not Beta Read, Other, Self Insert, Self Inserts, We Die Like Men, despite the name this is like the opposite of angst, discord pokemon universe, help i made myself like rose, i gave rose a name fight me, i had to make my own mom so thats cool, lost and found family, rose is an uncle, twilight wings fucked me up and now i want to give rose some backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22540399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acooleg/pseuds/acooleg
Summary: chairman rose goes to visit and reconnect with his sister after not seeing her for twelve years.he finds more than he was looking for.
Relationships: Rose | Chairman Rose & Original Female Character(s), Rose | Chairman Rose & Original Male Character(s)
Series: an idiot's guide to pokémon: galar edition [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574494
Kudos: 12





	the kantonian practice of kintsugi

**Author's Note:**

> 2 things  
> 1) his name is briar rose and everyone (including god) can fight me on this one.  
> 2) i only make strong moms sorry losers

Briar Rose was nervous.

It wasn't an emotion he was used to feeling much anymore - not since he had taken over as president of Macro Cosmos and, eventually, as League Chairman. He had spent far too much time in front of people to really feel any kind of anxiety anymore. But his fist hovered above the door, trembling as he tried to convince himself to knock. It would be easy to do it, to knock on the door and see his older sister and her family. But he was nervous and he couldn't pinpoint exactly why.

He hadn't seen her in nearly twelve years. Not after she had run off with some man when their father's expectations grew to be too much for her. He honestly didn't blame her; he fondly remembered their late night conversations together, discussing her dream of continuing on as a Galarian Gym Leader like their late mother had encouraged her to. She hadn't wanted the responsibility of Macro Cosmos put on her. He _had_ wanted that responsibility. It had seemed like such a fair trade - the oldest hadn't wanted the position, and the youngest had.

Their father had disagreed with that fair trade and pulled funding from her Gym, trying to strong arm her into taking the position. It would've been great publicity for the company if the fearsome eighth Leader were to take over. He knew that that was their father's plan all along - to get more eyes on the Rose label any way possible. But that wasn't who she was. She wasn't one for all the corporate talks, all the polite chatter of company dinners. She understood what was being said but she found it all so unsuited to who she was.

She was brash and unapologetic and so wonderfully suited for a Gym Leader. A powerful force and a teacher to those trainers that came to face her. And for that identity, the one she had crafted to represent her, to just suddenly be threatened? It had terrified her, so she had run away with a man that had swept her off her feet at her first chance and left he and their father in radio silence.

He had gone twelve long years without hearing from her, only for that that silence to be broken just a few weeks ago. Their father's health had been declining, getting worse and worse as time went on, and the media in Galar had caught on when Briar said he was taking a break from being in the public's eye to spend time with family.

She had gotten through the crazy amount of steps to get a direct line with him. Told him where she was at, talked briefly about that twelve year gap, explained that her husband had left her and their two children. He had been at a loss with that - two kids. A niece and nephew, respectively. She had asked him to come visit so she could talk to him one on one, to let her shed more light on the part of her life he didn't know.

With all of that in mind, Briar steeled his nerves and knocked three times on the door. He stepped back while he waited, glancing around the village of Pallet Town. It was a nice enough place; a clearing of land speckled with beautiful homesteads and a Pokémon research lab, all tucked away in a thick forest of trees. Her home was huge in comparison to some of the others there, with acres of farmland stretching behind it. The sleepy, peaceful atmosphere reminded him of the rolling fields back in Galar, places where they had played together in their youth under the watchful eyes of their mother, her Appletun, and her Flapple.

His heart started to clench at that thought, remembering the close bond he had once shared with his elder sister. He had done his best to shoulder everything left behind when she had gone, to carry the responsibility of what he had so desperately wanted alone. But now that he was standing at her door, standing at the place where she had built her new life, it was all starting to come apart.

She was supposed to have been there, to offer him those wise words he grew up listening to. But she wasn't. And he really had no one to blame but their father for running her off. Even as a businessman himself now, Briar had to wonder: was publicity that important that they had been okay with forcing Cerasus to run from everything she knew and loved just to be herself?

Before he could work himself up into another angry stupor over their father's stupidity, the door to the home was slowly opened. He watched as two tiny hands grabbed the side and pulled it open just enough that big brown eyes could stare up at him from behind a mop of messy brown hair. His voice was caught in his throat, whatever greeting he had been preparing dying on his tongue.

Those big brown eyes looked so much like Cerasus' had. There was no doubt in his mind; this was one of her children.

The child blinked once, twice, before shutting the door with a shake of their head. "No want," was simply murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. "Not Nee."

It took a second, but Briar realized what had just happened. "Ah, wait!" he shouted, rapidly knocking on the door again. "I'm here to see you! I'm your uncle, Briar! Your mum's brother!" Would it be rude to try the doorknob? To let himself in? "Your mum asked me to come! I-I'm here to meet all of you!"

There was clattering behind the door that worried him, sharp words traded with a whisper. Then, once more, the door opened. Briar Rose turned his gaze up to meet Cerasus', smiling at his older sister and the child she held in her arms. Her eyes crinkled as she smiled at him, his name falling from her lips in a breathless cheer. "Little brother," she greeted, stepping forward to pull him into a tight one armed hug. Her accent was gone and her voice was almost alien to him. But her warmth wasn't; she still managed to give strong hugs. So he hugged her back and took note of how he finally stood taller than her, her forehead coming to his chin.

"Big sister," he returned as she let him go, unable to help the smile making itself comfortable on his face. The child held on her hip stared at him, tilting their head ever so slightly. He smiled down at them but was unsure of what to do.

The group stood there for a moment, sharing soft grins and basking in the moment. She looked like herself, even after all those years apart. Her dark hair was starting to turn silver in the front and she was developing Honchkrow's feet on the corners of her eyes, but she was still _Cera._ Her presence still commanded that same respect, and she still radiated that power he had seen on the pitch.

She gasped, "Oh, gosh, where are my manners! Come in, come in!" Her hand found its way around his wrist, tugging him through the doorway.

He glanced around the foyer, taking in the multiple pairs of shoes kicked by the door and the photos hung on the walls. There was a long side table with a basket, a lone Kantonian Meowth basking in the sunlight that fell within it. It opened one eye to peer at him before yawning and going back to its nap.

"Sorry about that. Teddy's waiting for Annie to get home from school and when he saw that you weren't her… Well, he doesn't much care for anyone but her or I." She let go of his wrist and motioned to his shoes as she set the child - Teddy - down. As she straightened his hair ever so slightly, she softly said, "Take those off or you're gonna track mud all through the house, and Sylvi and I just spent all day cleaning up the mess my Eevees dragged in."

As he kicked his loafers off, he watched the pair interact. The boy smiled as she rubbed his cheek with her thumb, leaning into her touch. She looked so much like their late mother it hurt. Her gentle smile, the way she cupped his face in her hands. He could feel the love she held for the boy from that look alone.

Teddy murmured something that Briar couldn't understand, to which Cerasus responded right back. Then he realized that they were speaking in the Kantonian dialect, sharing simple sentences. The young boy nodded after she said one last thing, taking a few hesitant steps towards him.

Briar watched as the child looked between his face and the ground, then turned to glance at his mother. She smiled encouragingly, urging him forward with a wave of her hand. Then, he extended his tiny hand his way. "'mmTeddy," he whispered without looking at him, words melding together in that sweetly childish way. So, Cera was ensuring they were bilingual. "Nish to meetcha."

Crouching down, he took his hand into his own and shook it. "Nice to meet you, too, Teddy," he responded, speaking slow and matching his soft tone. "I'm Briar, your uncle."

Teddy's curly brown hair bounced as he rocked on his feet, not withdrawing his hand as gave the man a contemplative stare. "M...mumma's brother?" he asked after a moment, seemingly unsure of his words. When Briar nodded, he followed it up with a questioning, "Unc… Bry?

"If that's easier for you, then yes. I'm your Uncle Bry." The young boy's beaming smile made his heart swell, and his quiet giggle of happiness forced it to burst. He suddenly pulled his hand away and instead fell forward, wrapping his arms around Briar's neck tightly. The man gave his older sister an unsure glance and she gave him a mile wide smile, emphatically motioning for him to return the hug.

He did so, practically enveloping the boy in his chest. He was so tiny - no older than 4 or 5, maybe. Teddy didn't pull away. "Mm… seems he likes you, B," Cerasus said happily. "He must be able to sense family; he never warms up to anyone that fast." Teddy turned to her, rattling off something in Kantonian once more. She responded with a laugh and a nod. "He says you smell like me."

"Am I alright to pick him up?" Briar asked, already adjusting his arms to scoop him into the air.

"Ye," the boy responded, nodding. They shared a look - he had understood the question? As if sensing his confusion, Teddy nodded again and said, "Pick up." And so he did, cradling him to his chest. He let out a loud giggle, still not having let go of his uncle's neck as he squealed, "High!"

"He can understand Galarian well enough, he just isn't able to string sentences together yet. Simple yes or no questions are easy for him to respond to, though," she explained, straightening her sweater as she stood up. She looked at her younger brother fondly. "I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad you called," he answered, crossing the distance between them while holding onto his nephew. She gave him a critical stare, searching his face for something. They were going to have to have a serious conversation about the future while he was here. And he just… wanted to talk to her. To hear Cerasus be _Cera_ after twelve years apart.

"I'm sorry I left so suddenly." She closed her eyes with a soft sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose with a furrowed brow. "There was so much happening all at once, and Jac offered a way out of Galar without being noticed but I had to do it quickly and--"

"Cera." At the sound of her name, she sucked in a deep breath and glanced up to Briar, rubbing one hand down the side of her face. He smiled at her warmly, bouncing Teddy in his arms. "I'm not upset with what you had to do. Father wasn't listening to either of us and seemed dead set on taking away everything you loved. I'm not mad that you left to defend it." Her eyes searched his face again. He adjusted his hold on his nephew before reaching one hand out to hold her shoulder, grounding her in reality. "The past is the past, big sister. I'd rather stick here in the present and enjoy my time with your family."

She smiled again, the soft one that reminded him so much of their mother. "Our family. My kids are your family, too, B." Teddy pulled away, glancing between him and his mother. She raised a hand to rub his cheek, brushing curls from his eyes as she did so. "Uncle Bry is our family."

"Famwy," he repeated in that delightfully childish way. He turned his head away from his mother to stare up at Briar, a soft grin spreading across his face. "Unc Bry is famwy."

The man smiled as he nodded, "And you're my family, too."

Cerasus sighed again, although it sounded more content than anything else. She turned on her heel and walked further into the house. He took the hint and followed, openly eyeing everything. She had a lot of pictures hung up on the walls, some being family photos and others being of her Pokémon. "Well, let's not stand in the foyer. I'll show you to the guest room in a bit, but why don't you go take a seat in the living room while I make some tea?"

He knew that her home was huge just from seeing the outside, but as she led him through the foyer and into the common area, he was blown away. The living room shared a large open space with the kitchen, a countertop island acting as the separation between the two. There were toys and books everywhere, art supplies scattered across any and every flat surface. A child's paradise, although it was being picked up by a short, plump, pink Pokémon. "That's my Chancey, Sylvi. Don't mind her - she's just picking up their toys for me." He nodded.

Rather than moving to take a seat on the couch, though, Briar set Teddy on the counter and stood beside him. Cera rolled her eyes as she went about getting the kettle going on the stovetop. He split his focus between her and the boy, watched as she pulled a tea set from one of the cabinets and as he grabbed a small stuffed Igglybuff toy to play with.

A pair of Eevees seemed to appear out of nowhere, hopping up onto the counter to sniff at the newest person before deciding he was boring. Teddy squealed when they lunged for the toy in his hands, holding it above his head as he laughed. They jumped to try and get it, taking turns launching themselves into the air. Briar kept a close eye on them in case he'd have to suddenly intervene if either of the got too aggressive.

As if reading his mind, Cerasus glanced at him from where she was working. She let out a soft chuckle, "Don't worry about Kyu or Suta. They won't hurt him." The Eevees relaxed at that, cuddling up to his sides and setting their heads in his lap. "Do you still prefer earl grey, or do you want something different?"

"It's still my favorite," he answered, reaching a hand out to pet one of the Eevees' heads. His older sister hummed and turned back to her work. She pulled the kettle off just as it started to whistle and went about fixing their tea. He paid one last glance to her living room before finally asking, "What have you been doing, Cera? To afford this place?"

She turned around, crossing the distance between them and handing him a cuppa. He took it, not breaking eye contact even as she sipped from her own. What had she been doing? She was a single mother in a completely different region. He knew nothing about her life.

"I'm a Gym designer," she said as she pulled the cup from her mouth, glancing at her son. She leaned against the countertop and fixed his hair idly. He smiled up at his mother, talking to her in Kantonian. She responded to him before switching back to Galarian. "And I also work with Kanto's Pokémon Professor. It all pays well."

Gym designer… it was close to what she had always wanted to be. But it wasn't a position as a Gym Leader. "I see." He took another drink, glancing back around the living room. There was so much he wanted to say, but it felt wrong to start that discussion in front of her son. His eyes fell upon an open sketchbook, taking in the scribbles of a child artist. He stepped away to pick it up, smiling as he flicked through it. "Who's the artist?" he asked.

Each page was filled with doodles of Pokémon and people, five recurring humans (he thought?) popping up. Teddy reached for it, brokenly saying, "That Nee's."

"It's Nee's…?" Briar repeated, handing the book back to him. "Annie?" The boy nodded and closed it, holding it to his chest.

"My daughter is quite the artist," Cerasus stated before taking another sip. She smiled fondly. "She's only recently picked it up, but she's the type to get tunnel vision and dedicate herself to whatever interests her."

"Sounds like her mother," he teased. She rolled her eyes but didn't rebuke him. "How old is she?"

"She's a bit over a year older than Teddy so… five? She just started kindergarten at the local school this year." His sister grinned, picking her son off the countertop and setting him on the ground. Her Eevees bolted after him when he ran towards the door, circling his heels as he giggled. "He adores her and waits for her to come back all day. He knows she'll be home pretty soon after his nap, so he goes and sits by the door. That's why he was the first to answer when you knocked."

So a four-year-old probably witnessed him hyping himself up to knock on the door. That wasn't humiliating at all.

The two adults drank their tea in peaceful silence, seemingly content with just being in one another's presence. He had taken to wandering around the kitchen and living room, openly eyeing up any and all photos available while getting comfortable with the layout of the house. There was a huge glass door that led to an enclosed deck on the back wall, a tiny hallway that led to the right side of the house and a small sitting room filled with bookcases and a single couch off the left wall.

He stepped further into the room to look at the bookcases. They weren't organized, a library made up of textbooks and children's stories. While he knew that his older sister had always enjoyed reading, for her to own this many…? All in one place?

Cera cleared her throat behind him. He jumped and turned to stare at her, nearly fumbling his teacup but managing to keep it from spilling. "It used to be an office, but they would both come in to have me read. So I moved all my books into here and my desk is in my room now."

Briar glanced between her and the bookshelves, reaching out to trace his fingers over the covers. "So they're avid readers then?" he asked softly. She nodded. He smiled to himself and found himself remembering late evening when they would both go and ak their mother to read. "Like we were, eh?"

"Mmm. I appreciate it; it gives me more time to spend with them." She stepped towards a bookcase and pulled out a book, handing it to him. "Here. You'll like this; this one's their favorite." He looked down at the cover and grinned ear to ear.

"This one, huh?"

"Yep."

It was a children's book their dear mum had written and illustrated before she had passed, starring two children - a brother and sister, oddly enough - and their adventures with their Appletun and Flapple. She had been so proud of the book and always read it to them when they asked.

Thanks to their father's connections, it had been published basically everywhere after her death. It had been translated into every dialect that was out there and enjoyed critical acclaim. He was thankful for that. His niece and nephew could still experience part of their grandmother; they could still feel part of her love.

Briar idly flipped through the pages, seeing how well-loved and worn out they were. He wondered what his mum would've thought about being a grandmother. The thought was bittersweet. He decided to move passed it. "You weren't kidding about it being their favorite, huh?"

"Not at all. This was the book Annie first learned to read because she loved it so much." Cera took another sip from her tea, jumping when an excited squeal came from the doorway. She laughed when she saw her younger brother's petrified reaction and pat him on the shoulder, taking the book from his hand and putting it back on the shelf. "That'd be my Annie alarm, Teddy." She started out of the room with a smile, "It just means he sees her - she's home."

As they made it to the foyer, Briar saw the wide open door. Teddy was already sprinting down the pathway, the two Eevees and Meowth trailing behind him. In the distance, he could make out a large brown Pokémon figure, as well as a tinier bird Pokémon flying overhead. "Uh… should he be running towards those Pokémon?" he asked, already feeling a nervous sweat breaking out on his forehead.

She stepped into her shoes and followed after her son. "Those are two more of my Pokémon. Her older friends were busy this afternoon so they couldn't bring her home, so I entrusted Mutti and Sir to escort her safely."

Hesitantly, he put his own shoes on and trailed behind her. As he got closer, he could see giant brown Pokémon holding the hand of a little girl. The bird Pokémon had made itself comfortable on the other Pokémon's shoulder. Vaguely, he thought he could make out a leek. It seemed to be using it to smack away the Eevees and Meowth that tried to climb up to see it.

She let go of its hand when she saw Teddy, running to cross the space between them and scooping her baby brother into a hug. He could hear them chattering away in Kantonian, coming to a stop by his own sister when the little boy pointed his way. Her head tilted and she asked a couple more questions before nodding and running up to him, hand wrapped firmly around her brother's.

"You're mumma's brother?" she asked in shaky Galarian, looking between him and Cerasus.

"Annie, that's not how we greet people," she scolded gently. They traded a few words in Kantonian before the little girl nodded with a laugh.

"I'm sorry! I'm Annie Rose, and you're mumma's brother!" She extended her hand to Briar with a cheeky grin. She had a decent hold on Galarian, although her pronunciation was a bit off in some spots. "It's nish to meetcha!"

Already acquainted with this song and dance, he crouched before her and took her hand into his own. It was so much smaller than his. "It's nice to meet you, too. I'm your Uncle Briar."

Her hair was _considerably_ straighter than her brother's, looking more like Cera's despite being that same auburn brown color. And she didn't have Cera's eye color, either - steel blue eyes looked up to him, friendly and inquisitive. But that tiny smile and the way she held herself? That was all Cera.

"Uncle Bry! That's what Teddy called you." She looked to her younger brother and spoke in Kantonian for a moment, laughing again when he responded. She bounced forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug, startling the man. But he managed to hug her back, once again blown away by the sheer size difference. Had children always been this… small? "Teddy said you give good hugs!"

The little boy nodded, hands twisting in the shirt he wore. "Famwy," he reiterated in Galarian. "Unc Bry." Then, he pointed to the sky. "Make Nee high."

"Ah, pick her up?" he asked, looking at Teddy. He nodded, bouncing on the balls of his feet and jabbing his finger into the air repeatedly. Next, he looked to Annie. "Is that alright?"

She nodded excitedly, hands moving to rest on his shoulders. She gave him a bright smile. "Yeah! Yes! Do it!" So he did, lifting her into the air above his head and grinning up at her when she squealed with laughter. "I'm only this high when Mutti does this!"

At that, the giant brown Pokémon made a growl of approval, making her way through the rambunctious tiny Pokémon chasing one another around its feet and towards the children. It picked up Teddy and set him in its pouch, patting his head with a careful clawed hand.

While it freaked Briar out that such a giant Pokémon could easily manhandle the child, neither Cera nor Teddy panicked. It made him think that this was probably a daily occurrence. He assumed that _that_ was Mutti, which made the bird Pokémon on its shoulder Sir. (And now that he looked at it, Sir looked awfully similar to a Farfetch'd.)

He held Annie to his chest after a moment, grinning as his niece brightly. "You're pretty comfortable with Pokémon, huh?" She nodded, tiny hands once again resting on his shoulders.

Excitedly, she said, "I love Pokémon! One day, I'm gonna be a trainer like Mumma!" He glanced at Cera, watching how she gave her daughter a soft smile. But there was something melancholic there, too. It hurt to see. "Teddy and I are gonna get strong like Mumma." The little girl turned to look at her mother, saying something in Kantonian. The woman seemed surprised; she didn't respond, only stared at the girl.

Then, she smiled that same melancholic smile, reaching out to pat her daughter on the head. She whispered something back in Kantonian that caused them both to frown. It made the air awkward and with the language barrier, Briar felt awfully left out.

"Well, your mum is the strongest person I know!" he said, drawing the attention back and away from the uncomfortable situation he felt growing. Annie grinned at him. "Did you know she used to be a Gym Leader?"

"What!? No!!" She looked at her mother excitedly. Cera looked shocked that he immediately brought it up, eyes wide as she struggled to find an answer. "You were a Gym Leader!?"

"She was! The most powerful Gym Leader in Galar. I have a lot of stories about her."

Annie let out an excited scream, throwing her hands into the air. "I wanna hear 'em! I wanna know!"

A second later, Teddy let out a loud scream as well. "Mumma stories!!!"

Cerasus sighed, turning on her heel and heading back to the house. Her Pokémon followed, the smaller ones bouncing around her feet while the bird and giant Pokémon trailed behind her. With a good natured smile, she looked back at her brother. "At least let me get dinner going before you go spilling my life story, Briar. C'mon. Let's head home."

**Author's Note:**

> twilight wings FUCKED ME UP and made me want to give rose a better reason for RUINING GALAR  
> so  
>  _family._


End file.
